Koubousen Companion: News And Notes From Japan

If there was a common thread to the Japanese mixed martial arts
scene this week it would be: "What's next?"

Smackgirl has a new queen — but not without a little bit of
brouhaha. DEEP made a commitment to showcasing more Brazilian
talent, and will showcase another two Brazilians in October. Shooto
has young amateurs with their eyes on pro licenses and young
professionals with their eyes on titles. Meanwhile, Pancrase has an
amateur star that could be a big-ticket draw in the near
future.

For PRIDE and HERO's, the next hope is for television success:
PRIDE's U.S. financier is thinking about reality television, and
HERO'S hopes some star power can grab attention to their October 9
card.

Akano becomes Smackgirl queen amidst controversy

September 15 at Korakuen Hall, Abe Ani Combat Club's Hitomi Akano(Pictures) submitted American Molly Helsel(Pictures) to become the second Smackgirl
128-pound champion. Akano was tabbed as a Smackgirl star from her
debut. A judo International Cup champion, Akano debuted in
Smackgirl in January of 2005 and blazed through her opponents,
taking the 128-pound Next Cinderella rookie tournament.

D'Auguste rematched and defeated former Smackgirl open-weight
champion Megumi
Yabushita(Pictures) on August 18, and then was
reportedly contacted by Smackgirl to defend her 128-pound title
against Akano. D'Auguste reportedly told Smackgirl that she had an
illness in the family and was unable to compete.

A Smackgirl executive then claimed the company had contacted
D'Auguste, who won the title in August of 2005, multiple times over
the last year in regards to defending her title without success.
Smackgirl's executive committee announced they were stripping
D'Auguste of her title. They then set up somewhat of a dubious
match between the rising star Akano and Helsel, a solid yet
unheralded competitor who had not previously competed in
Smackgirl.

Despite skepticism of their handling of the situation, Smackgirl
stated that if fans do wish to see the return of D'Auguste to
Smackgirl, and she is willing to compete there again, that they
would assure her the right of facing Akano to determine the
rightful 128-pound queen of Smackgirl.

Moura will meet longtime PRIDE mainstay Daijiro Matsui(Pictures), who makes his second appearance
in DEEP, having lost a majority decision to Ryo Chonan(Pictures) in January of 2004. Matsui is
coming off of a loss to Pancrase champion Yuki Kondo(Pictures) at Pancrase's summer super card,
where he was dominated from bell-to-bell by the champ. Like Matsui,
Moura is coming off of a lost in his last fight to Leandro Silva in Brazil last
month.

Fabricio Monteiro(Pictures) will face a tougher task,
stepping into the ring with DEEP's welterweight champion Jutaro Nakao(Pictures) in a non-title bout. Monteiro's
performance in his DEEP debut was dominating, however tainted by
him coming into the bout overweight for a 154-pound fight against a
fighter who usually competes at 143 pounds.

"Pitbull" will now have to silence his critics against the Japanese
veteran, who showcased an unusual killer instinct in his August
bout with Kousei Kubota(Pictures), stopping him with a brutal
barrage of soccer kicks in the second round.

Endo and Mizugaki are both coming off of impressive showings at the
July 21 Korakuen Hall card. Endo quickly submitted former Strike
Force ISKA MMA champion Clayton
Guida(Pictures), while Takeya Mizugaki(Pictures) went back-and-forth with former
Shooto 132-pound world champion Ryota Matsune(Pictures) to a hotly competitive draw.

The card will give both men an opportunity to shine again, and for
Endo it may be an opportunity to prove his worth in the eyes of
other promoters, with a possible future in PRIDE, HERO's, or even
the UFC, as they continue to eye young Japanese talent.

The opportunity for Fujimiya is particularly interesting. The
26-year-old Shooting Gym Yokohama product has stated in the past
that with teammate and friend "Lion" Takeshi Inoue(Pictures) reigning as Shooto world
143-pound champion he would focus his efforts on becoming Pacific
Rim champion.

Originally, the vacant Pacific Rim championship was to be decided
this past February between Toida and Hatsu Hioki(Pictures) at GIG CENTRAL Vol. 9 in Nagoya.
That match was nixed, as Toida sustained a neck injury that put him
on the shelf for two months, and since then Hioki has busied
himself elsewhere.

With Hioki returning to the Shooto ring, and now seemingly not in
contention for the Pacific Rim title, it may not be a slight but
rather a good sign for the Nagoya native. Since his last appearance
in Shooto, Hioki dominated both UFC veteran Mark Hominick(Pictures) for the TKO title and Jeff Curran(Pictures), who holds a win under
Shooto-sanctioning over 143-pound title contender Antonio Carvalho(Pictures).

It is possible that Shooto officials recognize Hioki as a greater
talent due to his pursuits outside of Shooto, and may now line up
an opponent for him at the November 26 Nagoya card to boost him in
the Shooto world rankings, possibly setting up a future fight
between two of Shooto's brightest young stars in Hioki and champion
"Lion" Inoue.

Amateur aces aim for pro Shooto at 13th All-Japans

On September 24, 113 amateur Shooto competitors, male and female
across nine weight classes, will put on their gloves, headgear,
shin guards, and spend a full day battling it out in the ring at
the 13th annual All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships.

The All Japan Championships are typically held each September,
bringing together the best and brightest young fighters from the
Class C amateur Shooto scene. Fighters compete through their
weight-class tournament brackets, with winners and standout
performers earning Class B professional Shooto licenses. The
majority of competitors qualify through performing well in and/or
winning their regional tournaments over the course of the year.

The All Japans have taken on somewhat of a greater significance in
recent years, as Shooto's institution of the yearly Class B rookie
tournaments have provided an appropriate next step for young
fighters after gaining their professional Shooto licenses. Last
year, 31 of the competitors from the All Japan Amateur Shooto
Championships were promoted to professional Shooto. Twenty-five of
those 31 participated in this year's ongoing rookie tournament
series.

Buzz has been circulating regarding a possible PRIDE reality show
in the near future. American entrepreneur and entertainment
producer Ed Fishman, a financial backer for PRIDE's October 21 Las
Vegas venture, has told Japanese magazine Kami no Puroresu, also
known as Kamipro, that he wants to plan a PRIDE reality show on
American television, likely in similar fashion the UFC's The
Ultimate Fighter.

Fishman founded Players Club International, and is often cited as
creating the modern gambling tournament. Fishman organized the
world's first blackjack tournament in 1978, and created the ideas
of comps for slot machine players. In addition to experience as a
television producer, Fishman also has a hand in the rights to the
development of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. in the United Kingdom,
as part of the Chesire and Kent Ltd., which is jointly owned by
himself, Haven Burke, and Dick Clark.

No details or logistics for a PRIDE reality show have been rumored,
but the promotion in the Japanese media of Fishman as PRIDE's
American investor is worthy of note as the October 21 card at the
Thomas and Mack Center approaches.

Inside the Ana Hotel Tokyo this past Tuesday, Fight Entertainment
Group president Sadaharu Tanigawa announced that Japanese actor
Ken Kaneko(Pictures) would make his second endeavor
into mixed martial arts, this time inside the HERO's ring.

Kaneko, the actor best known for his role in Japanese film legend
"Beat Takeshi" Takeshi Kitano's acclaimed 1996 film “Kids Return,”
made his MMA debut in PRIDE this past New Year's Eve when he was
defeated by PRIDE regular Charles Bennett(Pictures) by armbar submission in the first
round. Kaneko told the media that his desire to fight hasn't waned
since that, and that's he continued to train over the course of the
year.

It was revealed that Kaneko had discussed wanting to further his
fighting career with his longtime friend Kunio Kiyohara, who is the
head producer of Japan's Fuji Television, the network which
previously aired PRIDE in Japanese television. Kiyohara suggested
to Kaneko that he should try K-1, and more specifically HERO's,
since Kaneko was interested in competing under mixed martial arts
rules.

For his participation at the October 9 HERO's card, featuring the
154-pound and 187-pound tournament finales, Kaneko said he would
train five or six days per week. Grappling training would take
place with fight icon Kazushi Sakuraba(Pictures), while striking work would come
under the supervision K-1 MAX superstar Masato. Kaneko also said he
would visit a variety of Shooto-based gyms to help him work on his
overall MMA game.

FEG is no stranger to putting celebrities in the ring and the
participation of Kaneko is clearly a bid for ratings. HERO’s March
card, headlined by Hideo
Tokoro(Pictures), grabbed an 11.8 percent rating
for the full telecast, while the May card headlined by Norifumi Yamamoto(Pictures) netted a 14.5 percent
rating.

However, according to Japan's Video Research Ltd., the August card
headlined by Kazushi
Sakuraba(Pictures) was a considerable
disappointment, only garnering a 9.3 percent rating on the Tokyo
Broadcasting System. Nippon TV’s The Strongest Student, a
competition among school students that drew a 16.4 percent rating,
dominated the timeslot.

Reports on New Year's Eve 2005 ratings stated that the Ken Kaneko(Pictures)-Charles Bennett(Pictures) bout on PRIDE's card, broadcast
on Fuji Television, grabbed a 27.7 percent rating, making it the
highest rated fight of any bout on either K-1's or PRIDE's
respective New Year's Eve cards. FEG and the Tokyo Broadcasting
System will now attempt to cash in on Kaneko's star power when he
steps into the ring at the Yokohama Arena on October 9, or perhaps
more appropriately, on the broadcast following.